LGBT rights in the Cayman Islands
Encyclopedia
The Cayman Islands is a dependent territory
of the United Kingdom. Although the local legislature and courts are independent from the United Kingdom, the British Government deals with all international relations on behalf of the Territory. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office
overseas the governance of the Cayman Islands.
residents. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity is legal in the Cayman Islands
, but same-sex couples and households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex married couples.
In 2006 the Cayman "People for Referendum" activist group began protesting against LGBT rights and same-sex marriage, after the Dutch government forced
Aruba
to recognise same-sex marriages registered in the Netherlands
. "People for Referendum" claimed that the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office
(FCO) could force legal recognition of same-sex marriages in the Cayman Islands too.
The UK’s International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights report on its Overseas Territories on Bermuda
, Cayman Islands
, Falkland Islands
, Gibraltar
, Montserrat
, Pitcairn, St Helena and Turks & Caicos in 1999 stated that “The United Kingdom Government is concerned that all Overseas Territories should adopt – as most of them, indeed, already do – substantially the same position as obtains in the United Kingdom itself in respect of capital punishment, judicial corporal punishment and the treatment as criminal offences of homosexual acts between consenting adults in private”.
In 2009 the draft constitution for the government of the Cayman Islands
excluded gay rights. The British Foreign Affairs Committee described the decision to exclude sexual orientation as a prohibited ground for discrimination as "deplorable" and raised concerns that it breached human rights laws. It raised the possibility that Cayman Islands
residents could be afforded less than the full protection to which they are entitled, under the European Convention on Human Rights.
Dependent territory
A dependent territory, dependent area or dependency is a territory that does not possess full political independence or sovereignty as a State, and remains politically outside of the controlling state's integral area....
of the United Kingdom. Although the local legislature and courts are independent from the United Kingdom, the British Government deals with all international relations on behalf of the Territory. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO is a British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.The head of the FCO is the...
overseas the governance of the Cayman Islands.
LGBT Rights
Homosexual acts were expressly decriminalized under the United Kingdom's Caribbean Territories (Criminal Law) Order, 2000. However Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in the Cayman Islands may face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTLGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
residents. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity is legal in the Cayman Islands
Cayman Islands
The Cayman Islands is a British Overseas Territory and overseas territory of the European Union located in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman, located south of Cuba and northwest of Jamaica...
, but same-sex couples and households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex married couples.
In 2006 the Cayman "People for Referendum" activist group began protesting against LGBT rights and same-sex marriage, after the Dutch government forced
Aruba
Aruba
Aruba is a 33 km-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 27 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 130 km east of Guajira Peninsula...
to recognise same-sex marriages registered in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. "People for Referendum" claimed that the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO is a British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.The head of the FCO is the...
(FCO) could force legal recognition of same-sex marriages in the Cayman Islands too.
The UK’s International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights report on its Overseas Territories on Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
, Cayman Islands
Cayman Islands
The Cayman Islands is a British Overseas Territory and overseas territory of the European Union located in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman, located south of Cuba and northwest of Jamaica...
, Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...
, Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
, Montserrat
Montserrat
Montserrat is a British overseas territory located in the Leeward Islands, part of the chain of islands called the Lesser Antilles in the West Indies. This island measures approximately long and wide, giving of coastline...
, Pitcairn, St Helena and Turks & Caicos in 1999 stated that “The United Kingdom Government is concerned that all Overseas Territories should adopt – as most of them, indeed, already do – substantially the same position as obtains in the United Kingdom itself in respect of capital punishment, judicial corporal punishment and the treatment as criminal offences of homosexual acts between consenting adults in private”.
In 2009 the draft constitution for the government of the Cayman Islands
Cayman Islands
The Cayman Islands is a British Overseas Territory and overseas territory of the European Union located in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman, located south of Cuba and northwest of Jamaica...
excluded gay rights. The British Foreign Affairs Committee described the decision to exclude sexual orientation as a prohibited ground for discrimination as "deplorable" and raised concerns that it breached human rights laws. It raised the possibility that Cayman Islands
Cayman Islands
The Cayman Islands is a British Overseas Territory and overseas territory of the European Union located in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman, located south of Cuba and northwest of Jamaica...
residents could be afforded less than the full protection to which they are entitled, under the European Convention on Human Rights.
Recognition of same-sex couples
The new constitution, approved in June 2009, bans same-sex marriage.See also
- British overseas territoriesBritish overseas territoriesThe British Overseas Territories are fourteen territories of the United Kingdom which, although they do not form part of the United Kingdom itself, fall under its jurisdiction. They are remnants of the British Empire that have not acquired independence or have voted to remain British territories...
- Politics of the Cayman IslandsPolitics of the Cayman IslandsPolitics of the Cayman Islands takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic overseas territory, whereby the Premier is the head of government, and of a two-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government...
- LGBT rights in the AmericasLGBT rights in the AmericasLesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights are complex in the Americas. The British, French, Spanish and Portuguese colonists, who settled most of the Americas, brought Christianity from Europe...
- LGBT rights by country or territory